Mementos from 50 great moments
12/6/2012
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1892 accounting ledger - The "birth certificate" of professional football.
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Sid Luckman, the NFL's first great T-formation QB, wore this uniform duing his career with the Bears.
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This is a piece of the crossbar from Cleveland Stadium. In the 1945 NFL Championship Game, Sammy Baugh's pass was blown into the crossbar and fell incomplete. The rules at the time resulted in a safety for any incomplete pass attempted from behind the goal line. The Redskins lost the game by one point.
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Don Hutson's sideline jacket from his career with the Green Bay Packers. His receiving records held for decades after he stepped off the playing field.
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This is the NFL Most Valuable Trophy awarded to Hall of Famer Bill Dudley in 1946.
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Otto Graham's jersey. Note, the #60 ghosted behind the 14. In the early '50s, a new numbering system by position was adopted. "National stars" like Graham were exempt from changing their number but being a team player, Otto did as his teammates were required to do.
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The L.A. Rams featured the first pair of lethal receivers in future Hall of Famers Tom Fears and Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch. Fears (#80) set an NFL record for catches with 77 in 1949 only to break it the next year when he hauled in 84 balls. Hirsch (#40) had 10 of his 17 TDs in 1951 come on long bombs.
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Hall of Famer Joe Perry's helmet from his career with the San Francisco 49ers.
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This is a piece of the Yankee Stadium goal post from the famous 1958 NFL Championship Game.
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The typewriter used by Pete Rozelle throughout his entire reign as the NFL's Commissioner from 1960 to 1989.
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A photo of game action from a 1906 Canton Bulldogs football game.
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The well-worn shoulder pads of Hall of Fame quarterback Y.A. Tittle. He used these pads throughout his illustrous career.
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The nameplate from Pete Gogolak's Buffalo Bills jersey. Gogolak was the game's first soccer-style kicker.
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This bench was from Vince Lombardi's last game as coach of the Green Bay Packers.
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The game program from the American Football League's first game.
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The "state-of-the-art" knee brace developed for Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Namath.
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Tom Dempsey wore this shoe during the 1970 season with the New Orleans Saints. He set the NFL record with a 63-yard field goal to beat the Detroit Lions.
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Ken Houston returned two interceptions for TDs while wearing this jersey in a game in 1971. That day he set then NFL records for interceptions returned for touchdowns in a season and a career.
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The jerseys worn in 1972 when the Miami Dolphins' Mercury Morris and Larry Csonka became the first backfield tandem to rush for 1,000 yards in the same season.
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This jersey was worn by O.J. Simpson in the 1973 season finale when he became the first player to rush for 2,000 yards in a season.
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The jersey worn and the ball kicked by the Oakland Raiders George Blanda when he became the first player to score 2,000 career points.
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The legendary Jim Thorpe's 1912 Olympic blazer.
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Fran Tarkenton threw this football in a game against the Chicago Bears on Oct. 31, 1976 to become the NFL' s career leader in passing yardage.
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Safety Paul Krause wore this jersey on Dec. 2, 1975 when he set the NFL record for career interceptions.
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Tony Dorsett of the Dallas Cowboys wore these shoes on Jan. 3, 1983 when he had a record 99-yard TD run.
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Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Jack Lambert had his Hall of Fame career ended by a nagging "turf toe" injury.
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This helmet was from Walter Payton after he became the NFL's all-time leading rusher. The Hall of Fame has his entire uniform from the record day on display in Canton.
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The L.A. Rams Eric Dickerson wore these specially designed goggles in 1984, the season in which he established the single-season rushing record of 2,105 yards.
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The headset used by Hall of Fame coach Bud Grant during his final season in 1985 with the Minnesota Vikings.
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The helmet worn by Doug Williams during his MVP performance in Super Bowl XXII.
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Jim Kelly's playbook from the Buffalo Bills' victory in the 1990 AFC Championship Game.
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Art Monk caught this football to become the NFL's all-time leading receiver.
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The meeting minutes from the NFL's formation meeting on Sept. 17, 1920 (Page 1).
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Minnesota Vikings WR Cris Carter wore this helmet in 1994 when he set the then-record for catches in a season.
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Glyn Milburn, a role player, made the most of his opporutnity on Dec. 10, 1995 when he set the NFL record for all-purpose yards in a agame. His uniform from the record day was sent to the Hall of Fame.
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Ray Lewis wore this jersey during his MVP performance (11 tackles and four passes defensed) in Super Bowl XXXV.
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Emmitt Smith's helmet from the game in which he became the NFL's all-time leading rusher. It is one of numerous mementos the Hall of Fame received to mark the historic milestone.
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Michael Strahan's uniform from the 2001 season finale when he set the single-season record for sacks.
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LaDainian Tomlinson wore these shoes and gloves in the 2003 season finale when he became the first player to rush for 1,000 yards and haul in 100 cathces in the same year.
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Tony Gonzalez set the NFL record for TDs by a tight end on Oct. 14, 2007 while wearing these shoes, gloves, and jersey.
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This football was thrown by Brett Favre on Oct. 11, 2010 when he reached eclipsed 70,000 passing yards in his career.
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Numerous artifacts were collected from Bears players following the team's win on Nov. 18, 2010. Chicago became the first franchise in the NFL to amass 700 regular season victories. This is the jersey worn by Julius Peppers during the game.
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Drew Brees wore this jersey during a nationally-televised MNF game when he set the NFL record for passing yards in a season.
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The meeting minutes from the NFL's formation meeting on Sept. 17, 1920 (Page 2).
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Ed Reed wore these gloves when he set the NFL's all-time record for interception return yardage during a game in Week 1 of the 2012 season.
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The jersey worn and shoes carried worn by Chris Johnson on a record-setting 83-yard TD run in Week 7 of the 2012 season were added to the Hall's collection. Here are the shoes from the record.
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The helmet worn by Hall of Famer Wilbur "Pete" Henry.
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New to the Hall's collection is this rare photo of Red Grange being escorted off the field after his first NFL game in 1925.
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One of the rare programs from the 1932 playoff game was salvaged from a fire at the Bears headquarters in the early 1960s.
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This helmet was worn by Washington Redskins Hall of Famer Sammy Baugh toward the end of his playing career.